Tuesday July 5

Fairbanks 9AM.  68°F

Rivers Edge RV Park on the Chena River

We've decided to spend a few days in Fairbanks so this morning we're headed to Dredge 8. This is a typical tourist stop. Historical site showing how gold dredging was done, how Miner's lived and of course an opportunity to pan a bag of paydirt. 

We each panned 2 bags of pay and each collected about $35. in Placer gold. Most people ( cruise ship riders) got frustrated with panning and just dumped the contents of their bag in the trough and headed to the gift shop. So after doing our 2 bags we started panning the material at the bottom of the trough and doubled our take 🤣. One of the extras at Dredge 8 is a display of the Alaskan Pipeline and the how it's constructed to avoid damage from earthquakes and to prevent permafrost disruption.

To get to the Dredge we rode this small gauge train.

I will say their presentation has not changed since Pat and I were here 20 years ago. Still informative and we had a good time.

We rode around looking for places to continue panning on our own but all the ground is posted. So we just explored the area and took it easy the rest of the day.